and caught but it is a touchdown into the corner. >> the redskins are just one win away from the playoffs as the team prepares for a winner take all showdown with those rival cowboys. it's good to be a redskins fan on this monday morning. good morning to you. welcome to "news4 today." i'm angie goff in for eun yang. >> nice to see that, isn't it? good to be a redskins fan. >> you have said it the last six games. >> good morning, everybody. i'm aaron gilchrist. let's start with a live look outside at 6:00 a.m. it's a chilly 39 degrees outside our studios and there's nothing falling. just cold. >> that's how we are starting things off but how will it end? here to tells more is storm 4 meteorologist tom kierein. >> the temperature there is actually kind of picking up heat from our building because farther away it's at or below freezing. on the bay waters and on the tidal potomac where reagan national is near the freezing mark. cloudiness over our region. farther to our south we have

sprinkles of light rain southern virginia into the carolinas. more moderate showers now moving into eastern tennessee and kentucky and that's going to be advancing toward the metro area but not until late this morning and perhaps during the afternoon we'll get some of that rain moving in. right now it's cold. below freezing. all of virginia, all of maryland except near the waters and in west virginia and some locations it's down into upper teens to near 20 degrees. so as that moisture arrives later today, coming into that cold air it will probably cause some icing these counties in the lavender and counties that you see in the darker color under a winter weather advisory maybe snow there. icing and snow if you are heading west into the mountains later this morning and into the afternoon. around the metro area, might get wet snow and sleet around noontime early afternoon but well above freezing changing to all rain mid to late afternoon and that continuing into tonight. i'll show you your christmas eve forecast in ten minutes. a look at traffic now with mike. >> good morning. things are looking great right

now on the interstates and not a lot of problems out there right now. worry free on inner loop and outer loop of the beltway. let's take a closer look at the inner loop in montgomery county. worry free at new hampshire avenue. things are looking good as you make your trip on inner loop from 270 to 95. that's a ten-minute ride at 55 miles an hour. looking good on beltway south route 50 inner loop and outer loop. angie? a traffic alert for people trying to get around town today. metro is operating on its regular weekday service. trains will run until midnight tonight. marc is only running penn and brunswick lines on an s schedule and there will be no camden line service today. the vre is closed today and tomorrow. it all comes down to sunday, my friends. redskins latest win sets up a winner take all showdown against the dallas cowboys. the winner of that game clinches the nfc east.

rg3 didn't show rust returning from a knee injury throwing for two touchdowns yesterday. but it was the defense that made the difference here stopping philadelphia on a potential game tying drive at the end of the game. the skins squeak by eagles 27-20. now everyone is thinking about next week's game against dallas. >> i think that's everybody's mindset. we're already onto the next one. you don't have to celebrate wins at this point in the season. you just know what's ahead of you and all that is for us right now is the cowboys. >> this win is the sixth in a row for the redskins. the longest winning streak in 15 years and puts them at 9-6 on the season. the redskins are looking for their first nfc east title since 1999. it's simple here. if they win against the cowboys, they win the division. but they can lose next week and still sneak into the postseason. if they lose, they need nnesota and chicago to lose as well, which would put all three teams at 9-7. the redskins own the tie breaker

over those two teams. because of the importance of this game, the time of the redskins and cowboys matchup has changed. kickoff set for 8:20 on sunday night. the final game of the 2012 regular season. you can watch the redskins take on dallas on sunday right here on nbc 4. if you still have some holiday shopping to do, get ready for a busy day. it's christmas eve and shoppers have the last chance to do that last-minute shopping which means stores everywhere will be very, very busy. news4's melissa mollet is live this morning in alexandria where some stores are already open. >> reporter: that's right. kohl's here in alexandria already open. i feel like i can walk around and get all of my last-minute christmas shopping done and believe it or not, we do have a customer in here at 5:59 knocking on the door waiting to get inside. she is looking for a coffee machine. quiet now. of course expecting a lot of

activity later today. lots of deep discounts all over the place especially on this christmas eve. all you procrastinators come on down. other stores like macy's and toys "r" us have been open for several days straight. folks can get their shopping wrapped up for the big day so to speak. if you want to find those must haves online, some stores like best buy offering same day pickup. you can find it online and get it before they close at 5:00 tonight. cvs has same day pickup for holiday cards today if you are really, really behind. according to consumer reports, 17 million people plan to shop on christmas eve today. lots of deep discounts and serious sales have stores hoping to reel customers in. experts say superstorm sandy slowed sales and talk of a fiscal cliff make shoppers nervous. sales expected on track to top

$586 billion. can you believe that? that's a lot of cash. we're expecting lots of folks here later today. live in alexandria, melissa mollet, news4. back to you. >> thank you. 6:06 right now. a longtime republican senator is apologizing for a drunk driving arrest. police in alexandria arrested idaho senator michael crapo early yesterday morning. officers pulled him over for running a red light. he failed a field sobriety test. blood alcohol content .11 above the legal limit in virginia. crapo is mormon and says he made a mistake and accepts responsibility for what happened. he's due in court next month. just days after the nra's comments on the deadly sandy hook shooting sparked controversy, the debate over gun control in this country is in high gear. yesterday a small but vocal group of people demonstrated outside a gun shop in falls church. the group called for a ban on assault style weapons and ammunition and more funding for mental health programs. the nra's push to put armed

guards in schools across the country has people talking. >> i don't understand why they are here. they are exercising their first amendment rights and we're here exercising our second amendment rights. >> this doesn't define us as a society. how many people should carry guns? it's the character. the character. the caliber of our character rather than the caliber of our weapon. it's just not right. >> police were present at the protest although it remained a peaceful one. seven minutes after 6:00. the remarks by mitt romney's son that are raising eyebrows weeks after the presidential election. also ahead, why the end of an era for a popular landmark along the potomac river.

it is finally here. christmas eve. once again this year you can

track st. nick's progress. the north american aerospace has set up santa's trip. we'll have a link on our website for you. it's nbcwashington.com. from the looks of it right now looking across washington, skies are clear. he'll have smooth sailing here hopefully. >> tom kierein is keeping an eye on all things in the skies. tom, what do you say? >> not tonight. we'll get precipitation moving in. right now things are dry, calm and cold. just clouds are cruising over us now. a few breaks in clouds to our west. may have sun around sunrise. a lot of cloudiness for the rest of the day. a cold morning. we're below freezing except near the waters it's above freezing. but elsewhere 20s. as the precipitation arrives by noontime, might have wet

snowflakes and sleet mixing with some rain. it will be in the 30s to near 40 above freezing and then changing to all rain. the rest of the afternoon and into this evening for this christmas eve does look like some more rain moving through ending by midnight tonight. seven-day outlook in ten minutes. a look at traffic now. >> it's christmas eve and the interstates are looking great right now. no reports of serious problems on the beltway. let's look at local roads. here we are at lockwood. no serious problems. hardly any cars in either direction. and also looking good at central avenue at ritcie road. we track breaking news after the death of an american in afghanistan. in her own words. what one of the victims of a deadly shooting at a mall in oregon is say about an the

beep-bop-boop-bop boop-beep. [monotone] she says, "switch to progressive and you could save hundreds." call or click today. we are following breaking news out of afghanistan. an american civilian who works for isaf was shot and killed in kabul by an afghan policewoman. an afghan police spokesperson says this happened outside kabul police headquarters right as the man came out of a store. you're looking at video just into our newsroom this morning. thor e er iofficer was taken in

custody. police are not saying if the shooting was intention aal or accidental. a formal good-bye for the late senator daniel inouye. president obama and senate majority leader harry reid were on hand for the ceremony. inouye was the second longest serving senator in u.s. history. he represented the state of hawaii for nearly 50 years. the 88 year old died of respiratory complications last monday. 16 after the hour. an investigation under way into the apparent suicide of an elite navy s.e.a.l. commander in afghanistan. 42-year-old job price died on saturday. he was from pottstown, pennsylvania. his unit was based in virginia beach. he was the commander officer of s.e.a.l. team 4. there's no indication that he was involved in an investigation or controversy. he's survived by his wife and

daughter. wednesday marks the eighth anniversary of the deadly earthquake and tsunami that hit south asia. the catastrophe killed more than 226,000 people. more than 50,000 bodies have never been recovered. thailand will mark the day with a vigil. since the disaster hit in 2004, millions of dollars have been allocated to seismic and tsunami information centers. this morning we're hearing from one of the victims of the mall shooting in oregon. she said the gunman walked past her with what she thought was a paintball gun and moments later he opened fire. she was shot several times and had bullet fragments in her lungs and liver. doctors were able to save her though. >> i know that god has his eyes on his. he has angels on everybody's shoulders. he's especially watching out for my family. >> christina survived a serious car accident earlier this year.

the second victim in a double shooting in northeast d.c. has died. 69-year-old nathaniel beasley died on sunday. he and 44-year-old raymond harris were shot early yesterday morning. harris died at the scene. police are offering a $25,000 reward for information that helps them solve this case. mitt romney's oldest sons is raising eyebrows with comments he made about his father's run for president. tagg romney told the boston globe that his father wanted to be president less than anyone i met in my life. he also claims he would have been ecstatic to step aside if he could have found someone to take his place. it appears former president george h.w. bush will spend christmas in the hospital. doctors say he's in stable condition but want him to build up his energy before going home. they are optimistic bush can

make a full recovery but have not set a discharge date. a fixture on the potomac river since the 1940s could be closing. jack's boathouse has been renting canoes for decades. the national park service owns the land and recently notified the tenant by letter he had to vacate by the end of january. he's begun the process of notifying boat owners and 27 employees that would be let go in the boathouse closes. >> a form letter that said we were terminated and had to be out in 30 days. >> we called the park service for comment but they have not returned our calls. fans of jack's boathouse started a facebook page to try to save the landmark. if folks out west were dreaming of a white christmas, boy, did they get it. parts of the sierras in california got a huge weekend snowstorm. holiday travelers those that

were brave enough to venture out to find another way to get around. some of the storm is expected to make its way eastward packing the same wind and snow. >> video you don't expect to see out of carolina lilifornia like. those mountains get hit hard. >> if it's coming eastward, how far east will all of that snow come? >> we don't want that much. >> tom kierein has answers for us this morning. >> some energy for the storm will be here on wednesday. before that we've got another little weak system that is approaching us. a little weak area of low pressure producing some rain from roanoke south into the carolinas and west into kentucky and tennessee south and west of there. ahead of that we just have mostly to partly cloudy sky over the metro area and we'll have the cloud cover thickening up as the day progresses. out ahead of that system we have cold temperatures. it's below freezing throughout virginia, maryland, eastern shore, except on the tidal potomac. a few locations near 20 degrees

right now. out there they have a winter weather advisory. area in lavender and area in pink color is under a freezing rain warning for today and tonight. could get an inch of snow in the advisory area. there could be significant icing farther west out here in western maryland, highlands of west virginia. if you are driving west, you may run into that. here's how we look for the next four days. we'll have a lot of cloudiness and maybe wet snow and some sleet maybe around early afternoon metro area and then switching to all rain the rest of the afternoon off and on light rain and maybe a moderate shower this evening for this christmas eve ending by midnight. before then, up around 40 degrees. mid 30s by dawn on tuesday. highs reaching mid to upper 40s and then on wednesday that western storm coming our way does look like we should start off again with a wintry mix in the morning changing to rain in the afternoon. highs reaching near 40 again. drying out again for a couple more days thursday and friday another wintry mix type of a

situation on saturday. stay tuned. we'll keep you posted on that. i'm back in ten minutes out on the storm team 4 weather deck. right now a look at traffic with mike. >> good morning. things are worry free right now on the beltway for your christmas eve commute. let's take a look at the virginia beltway. no serious backups to worry about. a live look at old dominion drive, things looking fantastic and robinson terminal looking great. 13-minute right on the outer loop at 55 miles an hour. aaron, angie? >> thank you, mike. 6:22 is our time right now. 'tis the season of giving so did you do your part? a look at who you might consider tipping and how much. also ahead, going out in style. why the creator of this popular christmas display is calling it quits after all these years.

what a sight. a denver man is pulling the plug on his elaborate christmas display after 50 years. herman says the project becomes bigger and bigger every year and

this year is reaches a whopping 70 feet into the sky and contains 150,000 lights. he says it takes him three months to set up those lights and he says he plans on keeping a smaller display inside his house from now on. >> wow. look at that. >> wow. >> that's the question. it grows and grows and grows and when does it all end? >> it gets higher and higher and higher. there may be public outcry. the fact he's bringing it into the house preside. >> the new survey says 60% of people say tipping is part of holiday tradition. >> they tip whoever delivers the newspaper, the hairdresser and mailman. they find a holiday gift for a teacher too. the last person to get a gift is the garbage collector. only 10% of people said they

gave the garbage man a tip this year. a sincere thank you will also do. >> a thank you goes a long way these days. >> thank you. appreciate you. >> i appreciate that. whether here at home or across the world, christians are gearing up for a day of busy services. >> potential problems facing last-minute travelers as they head home for the holidays. >> why the nativity scene is now making home. >> a line of winter weather for you. what you can expect next with

another round of winter weather across the country could make things challenging for travelers heading home for the holidays. good morning, everybody. welcome back to "news4 today." i'm aaron gilchrist. >> i'm angie goff in for eun yang. >> looking to the end zone. and caught. it is a touchdown into the corner. >> make it six in a row for the redskins as they squeak by the eagles 27-20. rg3 returned from a knee injury to throw two touchdowns and the

defense made a last minute stand to take the game. we'll have more on the playoff run in this half hour. >> we're watching the weather where cold temperatures are soon going to give way to a wintry mix so what impact is that going to have on your holiday plans is the big question. storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein out on the weather deck with what to expect. >> and he's wearing his coat. >> it is a cold northeast wind greeting you if you're about to head out the door on this christmas eve morning. we have a lot of cloudiness. a few breaks in the clouds to the west of the region now. as we look at what's been happening over the last 12 hours, those clouds coming in advance of a weak area of low pressure. that's producing some rain in southwestern virginia, carolinas, kentucky, and tennessee. it is advancing northeast heading closer to us. we'll have a lot of cloudiness through the rest of the day. it's cold. we're below freezing just about everywhere except right on the tidal potomac and right on the

chesapeake bay where it's in the 30s to near 40 degrees in a few locations there. in the mountains it's only near 20 degrees. way out west, western maryland into west virginia, there could be some icing and maybe an inch or so of snow later today into tonight. if you are driving that way, watch out for that. we'll have sun maybe this morning but then cloudy later in the morning and maybe wet snowflake activity with maybe a little sleet mixing with rain noontime and then changing to all rain by mid to late afternoon around most of the region and into this christmas eve. a look at that in ten minutes. a look at traffic now with mike. >> good morning. things are looking good right now on all major interstates for christmas eve commute. let's take a look at 270 right now worry free as you head toward the beltway looking at father hurley boulevard. a closer look near the beltway. things are looking fantastic right now and also if you are taking the metro today, trains are running on a normal

schedule. aaron? >> thank you, mike. with the clock ticking down to christmas now, it's expected to be another busy day at the airports in our area. news4's seth lemon joins us now from reagan national. how are things looking out there? >> reporter: good morning, aaron. things aren't looking too bad. a merry christmas eve at the airport. a steady flow of travelers but nothing too busy just yet. i'm here with a tsa spokeswoman who has tips for the holiday travelers. good morning, lisa. tell me about wrapping gifts. we want to wrap our gifts so people have the joy of opening them up. you say not to do that in you're traveling. >> travel on an airplane you don't want to wrap a gift. you can choose to do that. we might have to take a look inside and we would prefer the recipient of the gift be the person who gets to open it. we recommend using gift bags because we have to take a peek inside. that's all we do. we verify the item is allowed or permissible on an aircraft and

that way the person who the gift is intended for actually opens it. >> you say that snow globes are going to be allowed. i didn't know they were prohibited in your carry-on. >> you have a small snow globe that's about 3.4 ounces or smaller. you can bring it this year if you put it in your 3-1-1 bag. you want to think about the size of a tennis ball. if it's about the size of a tennis ball or smaller and it still can fit into your bag with other items, then it's okay to bring on board otherwise if it's a large one, put that in your checked bag. >> lastly this is the tip i love. it's always a hassle to have to unload everything when you go through security. so you have a very useful easy tip for us. >> right. everybody goes to the grocery store. you get one of these plastic grocery bags and you can put that in your pocket. it weighs nothing. or into your carry-on bag. put in your wallet, i.d., keys

and that way when you get to the other side you take it out. >> sounds good. thank you, lisa. everything looking good at reagan national. >> all right, seth. thank you. new this morning, d.c. police are investigating a deadly shooting in the capitol hill neighborhood. we're told the victim was found shot to death inside his vehicle along c street northeast this morning around 2:00. so far no arrests have been made. police have not released a motive in this case. a happy ending to a story we first told you about on friday. bronco the canine with the loudoun county sheriff's office has been found. officers found him yesterday morning about nine miles from the leesburg groomer where he escaped on friday. bronco was checked out by the vet and appears to be in good health. a nativity seen now has a new home. the display is on the lawn of the leesburg presbyterian

church. for six decades it was on the courthouse lawn. the county board of supervisors removed the display and replaced it with a christmas tree, menorah and santa claus. the pope will spend christmas eve with his brother before conducting the annual midnight mass at st. peter basilica. in french he advised people to look beyond materialistic side of christmas to seek silence and meditation. he wished the german faithful a happy and gracious christmas and offered a blessing in spanish as well. there will be two events at the national cathedral today. first carols by candlelight. that service will be held at 6:00. the second event festival hole eucharist will be at 10:00 tonight. a limited number of passes will be distributed at the church house near the front of the cathedral building shortly before each service. time is 6:36. the "today" show is coming up

next at 7:00. let's now check in with natalie morales. great to see you on this christmas eve. >> to you as well. happy christmas eve to you. coming up on this monday morning on "today," the rush is on with millions of people on the move on this christmas eve. travelers facing the threat of severe weather from coast to coast. we'll have the forecast and a live report from the nation's busiest airport. also ahead, a playbook for last-minute shoppers. where to go to find those best deals today. and then sex decades of style. we'll get a rare look inside the queen's wardrobe from her official dresser. and olympic great kerri walsh jennings reveals she was pregnant during the olympics here on the "today" show and this morning she finds out if she's having a baby boy or a baby girl live when she joins us when we get started on a monday morning here on "today." angie, she already has two boys. i'm guessing either way it's going to be a merry christmas if it's a boy or girl. >> boy or girl will be a major

all-star. my co-anchor said what? >> are you saying she's going to have an ultrasound on the air this morning? >> we have the results of the ultrasound to be presented to her. take care, guys. >> thanks. it's 6:38. right now people heading into work today could encounter problems with their morning commute. the schedule changes you need to know about. also ahead, the clock is ticking for all of you procrastinators out there waiting to finish up your holiday shopping. a look at the redskins playoff picture this morning as they gear up for a crucial game against the cowboys. a live look outside right now at 6:38 where it's quite chilly around the washington area. we are tracking some winter weather moving into the region.

the mars rover curiosity getting dirty today. it's set to check out a ditch known as yellow knife bay. the goal is to provide information back to nasa on earth which would decide which rocks to drill. drilling on the red planet marks a first for this mission.

>> that curiosity doing cool things all the time. back down on earth though, things nice, calm and collected this morning. >> wet stuff on the way. tom is here. >> all is calm but we do have some rain just now coming into southwestern virginia stretching down to georgia, alabama, mississippi, tennessee, kentucky, it's heading up to the north and east and coming into colder air that's in place out ahead of that we're below freezing. near 40 by the bay waters. freezing on the tidal potomac. later today as moisture comes in, might have this precipitation begin as snow and sleet around the noon hour early afternoon maybe mixing with rain south and east and changing to all rain throughout most of the region except way out in the mountains later this afternoon and into this evening for your christmas eve rain likely this evening and hovering near 40 degrees back to upper 30s by midnight. by then most of the rain will be ending. a look at christmas day, rest of

the week and weekend coming up. mike has a look at traffic. >> things looking great on major interstates. 66 heading toward beltway, no serious problems right now. a live look at the rest area, things are looking great eastbound side heading in toward the screen. and also chain bridge road we have 286 ride from there to the beltway 12 minutes at 55 miles an hour. angie? >> thank you, mike. the town of newtown, connecticut, will begin removing thousands of flowers arrangements, teddiers abouy be other tributes to the victims of the shootings. they'll pick up memorial items the day after christmas. they will be processed into soil. that soil will be used as a foundation to a permanent memorial to the victims. 6:43 right now. one community in north carolina is starting a new tradition in honor of the victims from the sandy hook shooting. people living in holly spring held a lighting last night.

several people placed 26 cand candlelit bags out of their homes to honor 26 victims. the organizers plans to do it every year around christmas. the nra leader calls the weapon ban phony legislation. he told "meet the press" moderator david gregory yesterday that an armed guard inside that school might have saved lives. >> if it's crazy to call for putting police and armed security in our school to protect our children, then call me crazy. i tell you what the american people, i think the american people think it's crazy not to do it. it's the one thing that would keep people safe. the nra is going to try to do that. >> any new gun control bill won't be taken until the new congress takes office next month.

lapierre's comments made the gun control debate hotter. a small but vocal group of people demonstrated outside a gun shop in falls church. the gun called for a ban on assault style weapons and ammunition and more funding for mental health programs and a push to put armed guards in schools across the country has people talking. >> i don't understand why they're here exactly. they are exercising their first amendment rights and we're here exercising our second amendment rights. >> this doesn't define us as a society. how many people should carry guns? it's the character. the character. the caliber of our character rather than the caliber of our weapon. it's just not right. >> police stood by in case things got out of hand but the demonstration remained peaceful. more than five years after the mass shooting at virginia tech there is some improvement to the state's mental health system. there is still a long way to go. according to the daily progress of charlottesville, lawmakers changed the standard for involuntary commitment and

clarified procedures for mandatory treatment but some say there still isn't enough funding. adding mental care isn't available in all areas or available in a timely manner. a republican senator is accepting responsibility for his drunk driving arrest over the weekend. police in alexandria arrested idaho senator michael crapo early yesterday morning. officers pulled him over for running a red light. they say he failed a field sobriety test. his blood alcohol content was .11. that's above the legal limit in virginia. crapo who is mormon says he's story for what he calls a mistake. he's due in court next month. lawmakers are preparing for a long final week of 2012 as they try to get a deal done by the end of the year to avoid the fiscal cliff. congress is not expected to return to work until thursday. that's the same day president obama will return. he's spending christmas in hawaii with his family. that leaves them just five days to get a deal done to avoid steep tax hikes and big-time spending cuts. senators on both sides of the

aisle say both parties need to compromise to avoid a potential economic disaster. last-minute shoppers may not have been as merry this year as retailers had hoped. good morning. >> good morning to you. shoppers filled the malls and stores on the final weekend before christmas but many people may have not been filled with holiday spirit this year. research group npd says customer traffic was in line with last year but consumers are spending less. a combination of factors may be weighing on their minds including the tax impact of the fiscal cliff, aftereffects of sandy and shootings in connecticut. 'tis the season for giving but many charities aren't on the receiving end. the single biggest source of revenue for most charities are down as you are big gifts from

endowments. the u.s. million dollar list which tracks large donations has found that big gifts have declined for five straight years from 43 billion in 2007 to just 11 billion this year. back over to you. >> thanks. >> hail to the redskins. burgundy and gold had the sixth straight win with a win over the philadelphia eagles. robert griffin iii returned to the game throwing two touchdowns in that victory. this win sets up a thrilling end to the regular season. a winner take all showdown against dallas and as danella sealock tel-- dan hellie tells they are focused on the cowboys. >> reporter: they improved to 9-6 on the year in position to win the first division title since 1999. obviously everybody pleased with the win over the eagles but everybody after the game talking about the big regular season finale coming up against the cowboys. >> i was thinking about that

since that clock said 00 and referee threw the flag. let's get the cowboys. nothing out on my mind. want to have fun and take the division and it's just different situation to be in. happy and excited. we'll see what happens. >> how long was it until after the game was over that you were thinking about the cowboys? >> walking off the field trying to figure out what's going on. it's about having something to play for and winning the division i've been here going on five years now so to have something to play for right now at this point in the season is exciting. >> i'll think about the cowboys after we land. i think that's everybody's mindset. we're already onto the next one. you don't have to celebrate wins at this point in the season. you just know what's ahead of you and all that is for us right now is the cowboys. >> they know what it means. we've been working for this opportunity to win the division. we talked about that from day one. they knew what we had to do to get there. we haven't accomplished anything yet. we have to win the division and get it done next week. >> somehow some way mike

shanahan has these guys believing. six straight wins. a chance to host a home playoff game at fedex field for the first time in 13 years. all they have to do is beat the cowboys on sunday. from philly, dan hellie, news4 sports. >> that's all they have to do. this win has redskins fans beyond excited for a possible playoff birth and of course they could not stop talking about that man named rg3. >> the game was awesome. rg3 was on the top of his game. >> i just love rg3. he's a player. he's an athlete. he makes the rest of the redskins be better. >> no doubts. they're on a roll. they have quarterback this year and they're playing like a team. >> playoffs! >> this guy walks on water around here. this win is sixth in a row for redskins. longest regular season winning streak in 15 years.

>> impressive and awesome indeed. redskins looking for first nfc title since 1999. it's pretty simple right now. win and clinch the division. but they can lose next week and still sneak into the postseason if they lose they need minnesota to lose, they also need chicago to lose, which would put all three teams at 9-7. the redskins own the tie breaker over those two teams right now. a quick programming note for you, nfl decided to change the start time of next week's redskins/cowboys game. kickoff set for 8:20 sunday night making it the final game of the 2012 regular season. you can watch the redskins take on dallas on sunday right here on nbc 4. >> we got to do just that. we don't have time for plan b. waiting for other people to lose. beat dallas again. okay. talking about our christmas eve weather, there's a bit of activity in store for us. >> 6:51. time for weather and traffic on the 1s. >> i talked to santa yesterday. please do something. at least make it feel a little

bit like christmas. it really actually may. don't be surprised if you see wet snowflakes later this morning or during the afternoon because it's cold enough for snow. all those areas in the dark blue are in the 20s. look at that. a lot of virginia. most of maryland and into west virginia. a few locations near 20 degrees this morning. southwest of virginia into the carolinas it's in the 40s. it is raining. this area of low pressure with moisture advancing toward the north and east. they're getting moderate showers north carolina driving down that way or heading toward tennessee farther north just a few sprinkles now in kentucky and ahead of that we have cloud cover that's rolling over the metro area now. here's the timing on this. by noon the pockets you see in lavender and pink are zones of sleet and wet snow and then during the afternoon this is as of 3:00 p.m. we might have this area north and west of washington. this zone could have a few wet snowflakes and a bit of sleet but i don't think we'll have any accumulation at all.

the ground temperatures are going to be pretty warm. through the rest of the evening that will change over to rain and move to the north and east. could be snow that could cause travel problems north and west of the new york city and boston metro areas into new england later tonight. for us we'll have clouds in and out tonight after midnight and then sun on christmas day and then christmas evening we'll have clouds closing back in and during the day on wednesday another similar event although this one will have more moisture where we could have a zone of wet snow and sleet north and west of washington and then all rain south and east of it. we do have winter weather advisory for icing and snow out of the mountains for today and tonight if you drive that way later you'll run into that. and then as we get into wednesday, another wintry mix change to rain situation. and over the weekend on saturday stay tuned. weather getting more active. a look at traffic now. >> things are looking great on the interstates taking a look at

395. no serious problems as you head north. things are looking great. worry free at the 14th street bridge. 12-minute ride. taking mass transit, green line single tracking because of a problem at navy yard. aaron? >> another traffic alert for people who are trying to get around town today. metro operating on its regular weekday schedule today. trains will run until midnight tonight. marc is running penn and brunswick lines on an s schedule. there will be no camden line service. vre closed today and tomorrow as well. if you are one of the millions who still has holiday shopping to do, get ready for a very busy day. it's guaranteed to be a holiday whirlwind at stores everywhere as procrastinators and last-minute shoppers hit the stores. melissa mollet is live in alexandria where the rush is already on. melissa? >> reporter: that's right. good morning. 17 hours to go.

not that anybody is counting until you need to have that holiday shopping done. take a look here. we're inside kohl's on kingstown boulevard. we have lots of folks here shopping and getting some last-minute gifts and let me tell you, this place has some good deals if you are looking to get anything today. all you procrasnators still in bed, come on down and head out. malls are opening early today around 7:00 a.m. most of the malls in the area of course. lots of deep discounts to be had. lots of serious sales. stores hoping to reel customers in. other stores like macy's and toys "r" us have been open for a couple days straight so folks get shopping wrapped up for the big day. consumer reports say 17 million of us plan to shop today on christmas eve. >> i like going out the day before. i've been shopping for months. this is just the redskins winning yesterday added to my list. i thought i might up the ante a

little bit. >> reporter: between superstorm sandy and pending fiscal cliff, everyone has been talking about sales expected to top $586 billion even though things are expected to be more slow than they have in the past so still a lot of money people will be spending. live in alexandria, melissa mollet, news4. happy shopping, guys. >> thank you, melissa. it's christmas eve and you can track st. nick's progress. a santa tracker set up. santa took off an hour ago from the north pole. right now he's headed to the solomon islands a few seconds away from there. up to the minute reports and even pictures from key stops on santa's trip. a link on our website, go to nbcwashington.com and search santa tracker. >> if he's headed our way right now, he would have nothing to worry about right now. >> leaving the house about to hit the roads, dry pavement but close below freezing. by noontime and during the

afternoon, may have a wet snow, maybe with some sleet quickly changing to rain. doesn't look like major event. rain ending by midnight tonight. it may happen on wednesday and again on saturday. stay tuned. >> thank you for starting your day with us. >> "today" show is next. we'll be back in 25 minutes with more weather, traffic and any breaking news. do have a wonderful merry christmas eve. >> see you back here on wednesda